The playwright uses white balloons, which are symbolic of the soul of the departed, and when those at the memorial release the balloons, they are letting his soul drift to heaven. While Cal’s family has no problem doing this, Cal holds on to his and talks about his friend and how he had struggled with his sexuality, which his mother disapproved of. He explains how terrible a relationship Cal and his mother had and talks about the hardships of a gay person whose family turns its back on him. Andre’s mother remains mute throughout the soliloquy but after reflecting on his words, she decides to accept her son’s sexuality albeit posthumously, and releases her balloon.

Even in the late 1990s and 2000s, many homosexuals experienced psychological distress within family dynamics similar to that of Andre when he was alive. As the main social support, families can reduce the anxiety and pain by treating gays with acceptance, dignity, and above all, love. Even today, gay people are still suffering rejection similar to what Andre got from his mother from their both family and society. In many parts of the world, homosexuality is seen as a taboo and it has been criminalized with “perpetrators” often shunned by their community. Recently in Uganda, the government passed a law that made it a crime to engage in homosexual acts or to assist gays and even agitate for their rights (Fallon). Initially, the law was required that gay people should be sentenced to death but it was altered so the get life imprisonment, this is evidence of society’s intolerance for homosexuality can be deduced in the fact that on several occasions, people have been lynched on suspicion of being gay. A similar case is evident in Africa’s biggest economic power in Nigeria when homosexuality is punishable by over 14 years of imprisonment. While in the west, the laws are tolerant and in most cases dictate that there should be no discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or any other grounds for that matter (Taylor 78), some elements of society still treat gays as outcasts.

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